Peaceful protests

The protests in Karnataka have been peaceful, in contrast to the violence that broke out after the interim award was announced in 1991.

KARNATAKA is witnessing widespread but largely peaceful opposition by farmers and pro-Kannada organisations to the final award on the inter-State sharing of water by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. The protests have the support of various organisations and personalities, including legislators, Kannada writers and film and theatre artists. The organisations have also called for a State-wide bandh on February 12.

But the Karnataka government is yet to arrive at an official stand on the final award of the Tribunal or decide its future course of action. A meeting of all parties was held in Bangalore on February 7 to decide the State's stand, but the leaders sought more time. They all expressed opposition to the award, which they felt was unjust, but they wanted to study the full text of the 1,000-page final award before coming to a decision.

Though the government was yet to take an official stand, Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa told the Karnataka Assembly that the government would appeal the decision through a review petition. The delay over the government announcing its stand is a pointer to how sensitive this complex issue is and its capacity to stir emotional reactions in people who identify strongly with the Cauvery. While the river is a lifeline for lakhs of farmers of the river basin, which is not industrialised, it is also a major source of drinking water for several cities and towns, including Bangalore. Above all, the Cauvery has always had strong associations with the Kannada language and culture. So the issue has wider ramifications that go beyond technical and legal issues.

It is in this context that the government is treading a cautious path. "Besides, it is going to be the final opportunity for Karnataka to seek a remedy before the Tribunal. Hence we want to make a concrete ground study before arriving at an official stand," a knowledgeable source in the government told Frontline.

Highly placed sources in the Karnataka Water Resources Department said the State was disappointed that its request for 465 tmc ft of water to take care of the drinking water requirements in several cities and towns, including Bangalore, had not been considered. It had been granted only 1.75 tmc ft for drinking water purposes. This would pit the drinking water requirements of some cities, especially Bangalore, against the irrigation water requirements of farmers in the coming days as the State would have to reduce the water allocation to farmers to provide drinking water to urban areas, these sources said.

Another disappointment for Karnataka is the rejection of its request to use Kerala's unutilised share of 21 tmc ft of water from the Kabini basin. The Tribunal has, instead, allowed Tamil Nadu to use this water until Kerala builds the infrastructure to store it, highly placed sources said. This did not appear in the order, but in the text of the main award, they said.

Another disappointment for the State is that the water needs of some of its lift irrigation projects, which irrigate nearly two lakh acres of land in the drought-prone areas of the basin, have been ignored, the sources said. This will severely affect agricultural activity in the area, as the lift irrigation projects will come to a stop. A large part of this land is located in Chamarajanagar, a backward district where agriculture is the only source of income for the majority. The restrictions put on irrigation are likely to impact the local economy.

The areas that would be affected by non-allocation of water include one lakh acres of land in the Kabini basin, 45,000 acres in the Hemavathy basin and 40,000 acres in the Harangi basin. Karnataka is also not happy with the Tribunal allocating 4 tmc ft of water for Tamil Nadu towards "inevitable escapes into sea". The State argues that it should have been given a share in this.

Karnataka had hoped that it would be asked to release only 140 to 150 tmc ft of water as against the quantum of 192 tmc ft stipulated in the final award, the sources said. The State argues that the Tribunal has not taken into consideration Tamil Nadu's abundant groundwater potential. While the government is cautious, leaders of the ruling Janata Dal(Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party combine and the Opposition Congress have expressed their displeasure. There have been demands that the State government take a legal course to secure justice for Karnataka.

The JD(S) says that the final award has not done justice to Karnataka and it has not considered some important issues. The party blames the Congress, which ruled the country for a long time, for "the bias against Karnataka". The party wants the State government to challenge legally the Tribunal's decision, bring pressure on the Centre on the issue through Members of Parliament (MPs) from the State and to create popular awareness of the unfair deal that Karnataka has got.

The BJP, too, has gone hammer and tongs at the final award. Yediyurappa and the party's national general secretary Ananth Kumar have urged the State government to seek legal remedy. The Congress has described the final award as "unfair" and demanded that the State should take legal action after consulting experts.

While the Tamil Nadu Unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has welcomed the final award, the party's Karnataka unit has demanded that it should be modified. The State government should refer the matter to the Tribunal, the party said.

Farmers' groups such as the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and pro-Kannada organisations have launched protests against the award in the Cauvery basin districts of Mandya, Mysore and Chamarajanagar; where farmers and students have started rail and rasta roko agitations. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce has decided to send a Kannada cine industry delegation to the Chief Minister to declare its support for whatever decision the government takes.

The Akhila Karnataka Gadi Horata Samithi, a federation comprising some 400 pro-Kannada organisations, has launched a series of protests that will culminate in a State-wide bandh on February 12. People from different walks of life, from auto drivers to cine artists, are taking part in the protests, which are being held in a peaceful manner. The ethnic group of Tamils in Karnataka have expressed their support for the protests, while the Karnataka State Government Employees' Association has decided to participate in the bandh.

The way in which the Karnataka government and various farmers and pro-Kannada organisations in the State have so far responded to the Tribunal award of the Tribunal is in sharp contrast to the violence that broke out in 1991 after the Centre notified the interim award of the Tribunal; 23 people were killed in that violence.

Pro-Kannada organisations and farmers' groups have appealed to the people to maintain peace. They have made it clear that their aim is to get justice for the State, and have stressed the need for adopting peaceful means to achieve this.

The government has made adequate security arrangements in sensitive areas and deployed additional police forces from other States to maintain law and order. The government held an all-party meeting ahead of the pronouncement of the final award, in which the parties resolved to maintain peace.